An ethnic instrument used for throat singing has its own name in Altai - komus. According to the Altai beliefs, shamans use komus to travel through three worlds, and women prefer it when  lulling babies. In order not to break the instrument, it is better to buy it with a cover, for example, from a cedar tree.

2. CLAY PENDANTS WITH  PETROGRIFS IMAGES
 

Small clay pendants made by local craftsmen usually feature petroglyphs like those that can be seen on the rocks in the Kalbak-Tash tract.  This small piece of burned clay with special symbols will remind of a wonderful trip to Altai.

3. ETHNIC FLUTE - OCARINA

Okarina is a beautiful rounded musical instrument, it sounds similar to  flutes. They are made mainly of clay, but sometimes of wood. The simplest ocarina has four holes and produces a small range of sounds. Learning to play it is not so difficult, but you have to practice a little. Small ocarina is worn around the neck as amulet and depicts mythological characters: Kaana Kerede - the Altai king of birds, old Khan Altai - keeper of the mountains, or sun Kun with a star in the forehead. Altaians believe that playing the ocarina drives away evil spirits and keeps the hearth. The surface of the musical instruments is often impregnated with cedar oil for a pleasant aroma.

4. ALTAI HONEY

Honey products in the Altai are traded everywhere. The choice is great - different kinds of honey, pergas, propolis, mead and pollen. They are filled with the aroma of mountain meadows and not by chance became a real brand of Altai. The reasons for this are a suitable mild climate that promotes intensified sap flow, rich vegetation, ecological purity of the Altai lands and centuries-old traditions of local bearding. The most high-quality honey is bought not along the roads, but in remote villages. It is absolutely pure, lively product - a real natural cocktail made of useful vitamins and minerals. It is thick and crystallizes slowly. And the most valuable is mountain honey, which has unique healing properties.

5. ALCOHOL-FREE BALSAMES WITH MOUNTAIN HERBS

The healing balm "Turquoise Katun. Energy of the river" is a non-alcoholic one – it is made of a water extract from vegetable raw materials. It includes fragrant mountain thyme, leaves of black currant and nettle, as well as fruits of hawthorn, wild mountain ash and dog rose. Phyto-balms "KadynSuu" do not contain alcohol and  treat many women's diseases.

Besides them, there is AltynAy, which helps to treat metabolic disorders, and Enchi, which is used to improve digestion. Another unusual healing balm is "Chemchuda", in addition to medicinal herbs, it contains mountain honey, pine nuts and extract from the maral horns - pants. 

 

 

Sources: http://mishka.travel